Plastic case with simplified assembly and disassembly

ABSTRACT

A plastic case is provided. The plastic case has a first side; a second side attached to the first side; a third side attached to the first side and the second side; a first high-strength bond attaching the first side to at least one of the second side or the third side; and a first perforation in one of the sides that is attached by the first high-strength bond. The first perforation has a lower breaking strength than the first high-strength bond.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to plastic cases, and more particularly to plastic cases that can be easily disassembled.

2. Related Art

Cases or boxes are often used to ship and display multiple smaller containers of a products. For example, motor oil is usually sold in one quart plastic containers that are shipped in cases that hold either 6 or 12 of the one quart plastic containers. These cases are usually constructed of corrugated cardboard. If the cardboard cases become wet through contact with rain or other liquid, they become very weak and often fail. Also, to be opened, the cardboard cases often must be cut with a knife. This can lead to accidental cutting of the product containers within the case.

Plastic cases can replace the traditional corrugated cardboard cases to provide a case that does not lose its strength when wet. Gluing plastic cases is more difficult than gluing the traditional cardboard cases. As a result, plastic cases can be joined using ultrasonic welding or other methods.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

While ultrasonic welding can provide very strong joints in a plastic case, ultrasonic welds can be very difficult to break when the plastic case needs to be disassembled into a flat sheet for storage prior to recycling.

The invention provides a plastic case that exhibits the strength of a plastic case, but also provides for easy disassembly.

Embodiments of the invention provide a plastic case having a first side; a second side attached to the first side; a third side attached to the first side and the second side; a first high-strength bond attaching the first side to at least one of the second side or the third side; and a first perforation in one of the sides that is attached by the first high-strength bond. The first perforation has a lower breaking strength than the first high-strength bond.

Other embodiments of the invention provide a plastic case having at least three sides; a first high-strength bond attaching one of the three sides to another one of the three sides; and a first perforation in one of the sides that is attached by the first high-strength bond. The first perforation has a lower breaking strength than the first high-strength bond.

Further objectives and advantages, as well as the structure and function of preferred embodiments will become apparent from a consideration of the description, drawings, and examples.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following, more particular description of preferred embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numbers generally indicate identical, functionally similar, and/or structurally similar elements.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a case in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention, the case being in a pre-assembly state;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the case of FIG. 1 in an assembled state;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the case of FIGS. 1 and 2 after being broken down;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a case in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a case in accordance with a third embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the invention are discussed in detail below. In describing embodiments, specific terminology is employed for the sake of clarity. However, the invention is not intended to be limited to the specific terminology so selected. While specific exemplary embodiments are discussed, it should be understood that this is done for illustration purposes only. A person skilled in the relevant art will recognize that other components and configurations can be used without parting from the spirit and scope of the invention. All references cited herein are incorporated by reference as if each had been individually incorporated.

FIG. 1 shows a plastic six-sided case 10 in accordance with the invention in an unassembled flat state. In this example, case 10 has a bottom 100 having a front 110, a back 120, a right side 130 and a left side 140 attached thereto. In this example, the boundaries between bottom 100 and front 110, back 120, right side 130 and left side 140 are folds in the plastic sheet from which the pattern for case 10 is cut. Case 10 also has a top 150 that is attached to back 120.

Case 10 includes several assembly flaps attached to various ones of the sides. For example, right side 130 has flaps 132 and 134; left side 140 has flaps 142 and 144; and top 150 has a flap 152. During assembly, these flaps are folded over and bolded to other sides of case 10. Flaps 132, 142 and 152 are bonded to front 110, and flaps 134 and 144 are bonded to back 120. These bonds can be ultrasonic welds, high strength glued bonds, or other types of high strength bonds.

FIG. 2 shows case 10 in an assembled state to form a six-sided case.

FIG. 3 shows case 10 in a disassembled state. Front 110 has perforations 111, 113, and 115 in the plastic to define areas that are torn away from the remainder of front 110 when case 10 is disassembled. Perforation 111 defines an area slightly larger than flap 132 so that during disassembly, front 110 is torn along perforation 111 to allow a part 211 of front 110 to detach from front 110. Similarly, perforation 113 defines an area slightly larger than flap 142 so that during disassembly, front 110 is torn along perforation 113 to allow a part 213 of front 110 to detach from front 110. Also, perforation 115 defines an area slightly larger than flap 152 so that during disassembly, front 110 is torn along perforation 115 to allow a part 215 of front 110 to detach from front 110. Finally, a similar disassembly takes place involving perforations 121 and 123, flaps 134 and 144, and parts 221 and 222.

By the various perforations and high-strength bonds, cases in accordance with the invention provide a strong, liquid resistant case that can be easily disassembled to a flat state. Disassembly to a flat state is important in order to minimize storage space needed to store used cases until they can be discarded or recycled. Various methods of bonding can be used to provide the high-strength bonds such as, for example, ultrasonic welding, gluing, stapling, and other mechanical or chemical bonding.

FIG. 4 shows an example of an embodiment of the invention having one or more removable panels. Case 1000 has a front 1110, a right side 1130 and a top 1150. Case 1000 can have the disassembly features discussed above, but they are omitted from FIG. 4 for clarity. Front 1110 has a removable panel 1112 defined by perforation 1114. Panel 1112 can be torn away from front 1110 to expose the contents of case 1000 for display or to facilitate removal of the contents of case 1000. Panel 1152 is partially in top 1150 and partially in right side 1130 and is defined by perforation 1154. Panel 1152 can be tom away from top 1150 and right side 1130 to expose the contents of case 1000 for display or to facilitate removal of the contents of case 1000. While FIG. 4 shows two panels, it is noted that only one panel, or three or more panels can be used.

FIG. 5 shows an example of an embodiment of the invention having tear-away portions to facilitate opening of the case. Case 2000 has a top 2030 with an attached flap 2010. Flap 2010 folds down over a front panel 2020 and is bonded to front panel 2020 by bonds 2150. Bonds 2150 are high strength bonds such as, for example, ultrasonic welds, glued bonds or mechanical attachments. Perforations 2100 are provided in flap 2010 around bonds 2150. To open case 2000, perforations 2100 are torn to release flap 2010 from front panel 2020. Although three round bonds are shown in this example, it is noted that any number of bonds of any shape can be used.

The embodiments illustrated and discussed in this specification are intended only to teach those skilled in the art the best way known to the inventor to make and use the invention. Nothing in this specification should be considered as limiting the scope of the present invention. All examples presented are representative and non-limiting. The above-described embodiments of the invention may be modified or varied, without departing from the invention, as appreciated by those skilled in the art in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that, within the scope of the claims and their equivalents, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described. 

1. A plastic case, comprising: a first side; a second side attached to the first side; a third side attached to the first side and the second side; a first high-strength bond attaching the first side to at least one of the second side or the third side; and a first perforation in one of the sides that is attached by the first high-strength bond, wherein the first perforation has a lower breaking strength than the first high-strength bond.
 2. The plastic case of claim 1, wherein the first high-strength bond is an ultrasonic weld.
 3. The plastic case of claim 1, further comprising a fourth side attached to the first and second sides; a second high-strength bond attaching the fourth side to at least one of the first side or the second side; and a second perforation in one of the sides that is attached by the second high-strength bond, wherein the second perforation has a lower breaking strength than the second high-strength bond.
 4. The plastic case of claim 3, wherein at least the first high-strength bond or the second high-strength bond is an ultrasonic weld.
 5. The plastic case of claim 3, further comprising a fifth side attached to the third and fourth sides; a third high-strength bond attaching the fifth side to at least one of the first, second, third or fourth side; and a third perforation in one of the sides that is attached by the third high-strength bond, wherein the third perforation has a lower breaking strength than the third high-strength bond.
 6. The plastic case of claim 5, wherein at least the first high-strength bond, the second high-strength bond or the third high-strength bond is an ultrasonic weld.
 7. The plastic case of claim 5, wherein the first side is a bottom of the case, and the second, third, fourth and fifth sides are vertical sides of the case.
 8. The plastic case of claim 7, wherein the first high-strength bond, the second high-strength bond and the third high-strength bond are ultrasonic welds.
 9. The plastic case of claim 1, further comprising a removable panel in one of the first, second or third sides; and a panel perforation defining the removable panel, wherein the panel perforation has a lower breaking strength than a non-perforated area of the side in which the panel is located.
 10. The plastic case of claim 1, wherein the first high-strength bond and the first perforation are located such that breaking the first perforation allows the case to be opened.
 11. A plastic case comprising: at least three sides; a first high-strength bond attaching one of the three sides to another one of the three sides; and a first perforation in one of the sides that is attached by the first high-strength bond, wherein the first perforation has a lower breaking strength than the first high-strength bond.
 12. The plastic case of claim 11, wherein the first high-strength bond is an ultrasonic weld.
 13. The plastic case of claim 11, further comprising a fourth side; a second high-strength bond attaching the fourth side to at least one of the at least three sides; and a second perforation in one of the sides that is attached by the second high-strength bond, wherein the second perforation has a lower breaking strength than the second high-strength bond.
 14. The plastic case of claim 13, wherein at least the first high-strength bond or the second high-strength bond is an ultrasonic weld.
 15. The plastic case of claim 14, wherein the first high-strength bond and the second high-strength bond are ultrasonic welds.
 16. The plastic case of claim 11, further comprising a removable panel in one of the at least three sides; and a panel perforation defining the removable panel, wherein the panel perforation has a lower breaking strength than a non-perforated area of the one of the at least three sides in which the panel is located.
 17. The plastic case of claim 11, wherein the first high-strength bond and the first perforation are located such that breaking the first perforation allows the case to be opened. 